


I Take Thee

by FanficNinja



Series: The Sanderverse [1]
Category: Sander Sides, Thomas Sanders, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Actual Deceit Sympathy, Angst, Better Synphosis coming, Clouded mind, Fluff, Interesting Headcanons, Other, Pining, Roman is innocent and does not deserve this, Slow Burn, Weddings, friendships, loosely based off of friends, other sides
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-22 22:09:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13773582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanficNinja/pseuds/FanficNinja
Summary: Roman is in love with Virgil.That’s a tad difficult with Virgil and Logan’s wedding just around the corner.However, when the wedding goes wrong due to one of the grooms saying the wrong name at the altar, Roman seizes his chance. Turns out though, he’s not the only one who attempts to gain Virgil’s affections...





	1. Here We Go Now

It was two weeks until Virgil and Logan’s wedding.

No-one knew exactly what to expect, but everybody was looking forward to it. Well, except for one person. Which was strange, right? Because that person was best friends with one of the grooms. So, what made him not look forward to it? And, not just that, begin to loathe the day. Well, it was quite simple. Said friend, wanted to be more then friends with said groom he was apparently best friends with.

And that friend... was Roman prince. He knew he had gotten himself into a tricky situation. There was no easy way out of it; No way out of it that spared anyone’s feelings. It either hurt Logan or hurt Roman. Or, even worse, hurt Virgil. And regardless of who got upset, that would make Patton feel just as bad. And then, in the end, they could all be hurt.

That’s probably why Roman said nothing. He didn’t want to hurt anyone else. He didn’t want to hurt his friends. And, yeah, he was sure that some people were aware of his feelings for Virgil... but he didn’t think anyone would care that much. He put on such a brave face after all. Even if they did know, they probably thought that Roman had gotten over it.

He hadn’t. Not one bit.

That’s probably what led to him to this inevitable moment: Telling Virgil how he truly felt. He didn’t want to. There was no conceivable way this could end well for him. But, he didn’t care. He was going to get it off of his chest and then he was going to run away. They wouldn’t need him. Thomas certainly didn’t. All of Romans ideas seemed to be misplaced and all the good ones came from the others anyway.

He pondered these thoughts constantly, though usually he was in his room. Not here; walking down the hallway over to Virgil’s room. It was a very long hallway, annoyingly enough. After all, it housed the doors to all of Thomas’s sides. Even the unseen ones. It would take him a while to get there, so he just hoped that no one else saw him.

Except, that was a very tall order. Thomas had tons of sides and all of them knew Roman well. He was bound to bump into someone. And, unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened.

He didn’t expect it to turn him into the opposite direction, however. That was just even poorer luck.

“Ah, Roman!”

He looked up and saw Memory grinning at him. Ah, yes. Memory was, quite obviously, Thomas’s memory. He was quite unnervingly forgetful, but he tended to always remember the important things. If he was coming over to Roman, it was probably because he was needed somewhere.

As Memory walked towards him, the fanciful side then noticed his choice of clothing.

The side tended to wear a grey jacket complete with baggy white pants; His hands always covered in words done in silver sharpie, all stuff he wrote down so he could remember stuff. Not this time, (Well, except for the silver sharpie. He had that stuff no matter how nice he tried to look) however it seemed as though, in light of the wedding approaching, the side had tried to go for a more... appropriate look. He wore a grey suit and tie, with a white carnation glued crudely to his chest. If it wasn’t for the fact that his hair was a complete mess, Roman would actually be impressed by the effort.

Well, except for the fact that he didn’t need to wear the outfit now. The wedding was in two weeks after all. Then again, Memory always liked to wear outfits for special events days in advance. So he wouldn’t forget, of course.

Before Roman could ponder the side any more, he bounced up in front of him. “Heya, Roman. Excited for the wedding?” Memory asked gleefully.

Not wanting to appear upset, Roman forced a smile back. “Oh, hello. And, yes, of course” He lied shakily. “Um, so what do you need, Memory? I can’t imagine your here just to tell me that..?”

The perky side then plopped himself beside Roman and put an arm around the fanciful sides shoulder. “Right! I almost forgot, typical me, but your needed in Narcissism’s room” He said, looking down at his hand; trying to read one of the scrambles of text on it. “To, uh, ‘try on the suits’ and stuff” He read slowly.

Roman thought they had planned to do that in a weeks time. Then again, this was Narcissism. He would never pass up the opportunity to see himself in a suit. He probably just had nothing to do and chose to do it now to entertain himself.

With a huff, Roman shrugged slightly. “I suppose I must be off then” He grumbled, annoyed.

“Oh, good” Memory clasped his hands together. “I was worried you might be busy. You looked like you were going somewhere” He said matter-of-factly. He then blinked a couple times, arching an eyebrow. “Were you... heading somewhere?”

“N-no” Roman said, shaking his head. “Just dawdling. I’ll be there in a moment”

Memory didn’t look like he believed him, but he skipped off regardless. Roman then turned on his heel and carried on walking the other way. He passed a couple doors with the name of the sides who resided there plastered on the front (‘Logics’, ‘Dreams’, ‘Not Deceits’ /which strangely had cake crumbs in front of it/, And ‘Moralities’) before finally coming to Narcissisms. Unlike the others, it wasn’t just his name on the door. It was his face on the door. Roman knew he could be egotistical, but he wouldn’t go this far.

He sighed frustratingly, hoping this wouldn’t take too long, and put his hand on the doorknob. He turned it slowly and walked through.

The room was large, but still smaller then Romans (Roman embodied creativity, he could make his room as big as he liked. Even infinite, if he wanted to!) and Thoughts. It was coated in royal red colours and had a large golden mirror situated on the wall. There was also a golden statue, of Narcissism, that stood in the middle of the room. Logan had walked in here once by accident and mistaken it for Romans room. Roman was a bit insulted, to be honest.

His room was nothing like Narcissisms. It wasn’t about ‘Roman’ or ‘The Roman Experience’. It was just a large space of grass and trees. A calming forest. And in the middle was a nice cottage where him and his imaginary friends hung out. Well, not imaginary. They lived in the kingdom that he created to the west of his room. The people he spoke to in his cottage, who weren’t aspects of Thomas at all, were extremely... different, from anything else Roman had ever experienced in the mind-scape.

He’s beginning to think he’s the only one that has them.

As he continued to traverse through Narcissisms room, his fear began to grow. Narcissism and him usually liked to hang out and talk about fashion, so there was a chance that he could tell that he wasn’t feeling happy at the moment. He even caught on to how down Roman had been when they were trying on the suits.

Wait a minute. They’d already tried on the suits. So then, why...oh no.

“Roman, thank Disney!” Narcissism ran towards him and embraced him tightly. He pulled away, and his face was a mess. Bags under his eyes, messy hair... not even his makeup was done. It was a sight Roman had never seen before. Suddenly, Narcissism grabbed him by the collar and brought him closer, muttering angrily; “I have been bruised badly before. But these... scoundrels! They took away my beautiful, beautiful face!” He spat, and yes, it was in Romans face. Roman winced but didn’t bring it up. “They just can’t control themselves. I don’t want to damage my beauty anymore then I already have, so I thought why not let you do it! Your face is pretty banged up already, isn’t it?” He told, letting go of the fanciful side to pat him condescendingly on the cheek.

Roman narrowed his eyes. “Narcissism, my face is not-“

“Hush, darling!” Narcissism scolded fearfully. “Here they come”

Suddenly, three sides entered the room. Each of them looking madder then the last. Logan, Sleep and Belief (Belief looking the least mad whilst Logan looking the most) entered the scene tiredly. Sleep yawned and pulled a phone from his pockets, seeming to scroll through the contents. “Girl, I can not even with you right now. You brought in Roman to help us with the suits? I just said I wanted a different colour” Sleep stated, rolling his eyes.

“Nothing is your colour though!” Narcissism shot back dramatically, a hand to his chest. “It’s either you look ugly on Logan and Virgil’s wedding or you look slightly less. I vouch for slightly less, please. So, why not just wear the colour?”

Sleep stared at him, not looking the tad bit phased. He returned to his phone with a dismissing wave of the hand. “Whatever, girl. I. Can’t. Deal”

Roman blinked for a moment and then looked at the sides one by one.

Logan seemed annoyed. His blue tie out of place a bit. That might not seem like much, but it was for Logan. He had a thing for tidiness and order.

Sleep was the same as he always was, wearing a black hoodie with some band name on it that Roman couldn’t recall, and didn’t look that mad. Just a tiny smidge annoyed. But, then again, wasn’t he always?

On the complete other side of the spectrum, Belief just looked puzzled. He usually was so colourful... a Father-Christmas cloak, fairy wings, bunny ears and a jack-o-lantern mask hanging off the side of his face. But here, he was wearing a tight, red suit. It seemed as though his wings were uncomfortable and constrained and his bunny ears were trying to cover his face in concern.

Roman leant into Narcissisms ear and said; “I get why Sleep is here and maybe Bel-“

“He’s so difficult!” Narcissism announced, pointing an accusing finger at the side in question.

Roman sighed. “Yes” He admitted weakly. “But why is Logan here?”

Logan, overhearing this, supplied his own answer. “I just don’t understand why I need to go for such a fancy suit. The whole point of this wedding is for me to marry the love of my life and him the same” Roman crossed his arms at this, looking away. He hoped no-one figured out why. “I don’t see why I need to go all extravagant” The logical side said, tilting his head to the side with his own confusion.

“Because it’s nice. Because it shows that you want to look your best for him” Roman spoke out through gritted teeth.

“But Virgil already knows that about me, doesn’t he? Hence why I want to be plain and simple” Logan replied, not seeming to note Romans hostility.

“And this is Virgil” Belief then said quietly. Everyone turned to face him and he flinched. With a deep breath, he raised his ears from his face and added much more confidentially; “Virgil gets anxious a lot. He might prefer a quiet, more simple wedding. I think that includes the suits”

Everyone stared at him, seeming to nod. Even Roman, though he did it very subtly. But, then again, Narcissism couldn’t just let it be. He fell on his knees and seemed to scream at the heavens. “WHY CANT I JUST FINALLY USE MY DESIGNS ON SOMEONE OTHER THEN MYSELF!?” He yelled angrily. There was a small pause.

“Isn’t it obvious, girl?” Sleep said, raising an eyebrow. Narcissism turned to face the side slowly, shaking his head weakly. “It’s because you make it seem like they only look good on you. Girl, you gotta be more supportive. We all look the same”

Roman snorted. He covered his mouth upon Logan and Belief eyeing him weirdly.

“Just be nice, girl” Sleep urged with a raise of the shoulders. “Not that hard, really”

Narcissism pondered this for a moment before nodding. “You’re right! I should be keeping the fact that everyone’s so ugly aside from me to myself. As any nice person would!” He proclaimed loudly.

Logan furrowed his brows. “But, a ‘nice’ person, probably wouldn’t even have any of those thoughts at-“

“Logan” Roman warned. “This is the closest he’ll ever be. Let him have it”

There was a silence as Logan adjusted his glasses and nodded.

“Yes, that is it. I shall be nice. I shall be so handsomely nice that everyone will listen” He stepped up to Sleep with a determined look in his eyes.

“Hold on!” Belief called out worriedly. “I don’t think Sleep is the best person to try out your new-founded kindness on”

Narcissism stopped in place, confused. “No?” He arched an eyebrow.

Roman made a flamboyant roll of the shoulders. “Listen, Narcissism. It doesn’t matter who you wow to make your point. Just be kind” He said intimidatingly, going to look over at Belief and whispering; “I don’t understand you, Belief. He’s going to be nice! This is good, isn’t it? Who cares if it’s on Sleep or hell, any other side” There was a brief silence. “Also... aren’t you the one who always seems to believe that anything is possible?”

“True” Belief agreed hesitantly. “But, here’s the thing...”

“Yeah?” Roman said, intrigued.

Belief frowned sadly. “I believe this is going to fail”

“Oh” Roman groaned.

They turned back their attention towards Narcissism, who was continuing to try and be nice to Sleep. “How about you wear this colour because, even though the others just great on you,” The tone of voice he said that in made it clear he didn’t believe his own words. “I feel like this one looks the very best. So... what do you say?” He fluttered his eyelashes.

Sleep eyed him for a moment. “Nah, girl. It doesn’t bring out my eyes”

Narcissism made a noise of frustration, punching the wall. It left no marks and all it did was make Narcissisms hand hurt. He shook his pained hand instinctively, repeating the word ‘Ow’ over and over again. With an over-the-top sigh, he leant against the wall; face upset. “I can’t go on like this. If this keeps at it, there might not be a wedding at all!

“Now, don’t say that” Logan interjected, voice strong. “It’s not all about the suits. Right, Roman?” He was met with silence. “Roman?”

Roman didn’t respond. He was just so overcome with the words. ‘There might not be a wedding at all’, did he say? Now, that was an interesting thought. All it would take is for Roman to mess this up further, however so. It would be delightfully easy. Then, he could approach Virgil and ask him to be his date. Then everything would be alright again!

No... no, it wouldn’t.

God, what was Roman thinking? He couldn’t do that. That’d be insane. Sure, it may be tempting but Roman wasn’t going to spoil Virgil’s wedding day just because of his own feelings. He needed to be strong. As he saw the scene out-folding before him (Narcissism wailing, Belief seeming distressed, Logan trying to calm everyone down and Sleep not giving a damn) he decided that he wasn’t going to ruin this day. He was going to make it better and amazing.

Just so he could see Virgil’s happy face when it all came together.

As he collected his thoughts, he stamped on the ground with a thud. “Everyone!” He cried out bravely, making everyone freeze in place except for Sleep who was typing away at his phone. “Sleep, you too” Sleep tilted his head up to look at him, emotion blank and unreadable. Roman walked up to him calmly. “Listen here, Sleep. I want you to answer three questions, alright?”

The tired side nodded. “Sure”

“Okay, good” Roman began to smile. “For starters, is Virgil your friend?”

“Yeah, girl” Sleep responded.

“And is Logan your friend?”

The side looked over at Logan for a small moment before biting his lip. “Girl, we both know how I feel about Logan and I feel attacked right now for you bringing it up” He said simply.

Roman huffed for a second. Logan seemed surprised. “Right. Well, scratch that. Third question; do you want this wedding to go smoothly?” He asked speedily. Sleep nodded. “Then put on the suit... for Virgil’s sake!” Roman added quickly, cracking a large grin.

Sleep thought for a moment before going over to Narcissism. “Yo, girl. Before I forget, where’s the suit. We might need adjustments later or something” He said flatly, making Narcissism jump up in surprise.

“I thought you’d never ask!” He called out cheerfully, pulling Sleep into a door that had appeared just as quickly as they went in.

Logan gave a weak smile. “Thank you, Roman” He said nicely. “I was afraid that everything was going to spiral out of control. Glad to see that it is all well and done though”

“On the contrary, Microsoft Nerd” Roman told brightly. “We still need to fix this little problem” He pointed out coldly. “Don’t think I don’t see it”

“What?” Logan took a step back. “Roman, I don’t think we should bring this up her-“

“Your feeling insecure in your little suit. Well, have no doubts... just tell me what you want and I’ll whip something perfect up for you” He informed happily. Logan seemed puzzled. “What? Was that not it?”

Logan’s shoulders slumped. “N-no. That’s it. I was just... never mind”

Roman grinned. “Now, come on” He grabbed Logan by the wrist. “Leave out no details!”

As they trotted out of the room, Belief shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Um, I’ll just wait here then!” He called out after them. “Maybe... maybe I’ll go help Patton or something..?” He was silenced by the door shutting behind Roman and Logan.

“So...” Roman began, already excited. “Where shall we start?”

—

The next few days went in a bliss. Soon enough, it was one week until the esteemed day... and Roman was still none too pleased about it. Maybe he could cancel his invitation? No, he couldn’t. He had nothing else to do and they all knew it. They’d think he’d just ditched for selfish reasons. And, well... they wouldn’t be too far out of the question.

He had found hardly any time to visit Virgil ever since the little ‘suit’ mishap, also. Which was what he was trying to make up for now, actually! But, as like last time, the universe couldn’t catch him a break. He was closer this time, too. Just a few doors away. But before he could get any further Patton grabbed him by the arm and said in a panicked voice;

“WE CANT FIND THE WEDDING CAKE!”

The next few moments were a haze. Apparently, the cake had been stored in the fridge in Patton’s room, and yet now it was gone. They don’t know when it was stolen, only that they checked it three weeks ago (It wouldn’t have been off. It was a creation of the imagination after all). He took him to a room where Gluttony was sitting at a chair whilst two other sides (which Roman later recognised to be Reason and Justice) talked to him directly about what had happened.

“I’m telling you guys, it wasn’t me!” Gluttony objected. “I didn’t even know where the cake was. And if I did, I would’ve taken it a lot sooner”

“Likely story” Justice muttered, raising his cowboy hat slightly to look at the side.

Roman watched in amazement at the multitude of stereotypes laid out before him. Justice was, as always, dressed like a cowboy whilst Reason had adorned a detective look; much like Logan’s. Actually, speaking of him...

“Patton, why didn’t you bring The Great Rat Detective here instead of me?” Roman questioned curiously. Patton blinked a couple times. Roman sighed. “...Logan” He elaborated annoyedly.

“Oh!” Patton’s cheeks reddened and he shied away. “I didn’t want him to know I messed up” He sounded sad, and Roman watched on in a similar state.

“Right” The fanciful side noted. “Well, let’s just try to sort this out. Whose our main suspect?”

“We told you, Patton” Reason suddenly blurted out, not even addressing them with a complimentary greeting first. “We don’t need help. We already have a suspect... and a culprit” He told, squinting at Gluttony. The side rolled his eyes in response. “It makes the most reasonable sense, obviously. Therefore, It has to be him!” Reason told promptly. Justice nodded at the words said with a grunt.

“Do you have any proof though?” Roman asked.

There was a short pause. Reason chuckled sheepishly. “Unfortunately not at the moment. But, for this kind of crime, there wouldn’t be” He smirked deviously. “We know how Gluttony licks the plate”

Gluttony made a face of protest. “No way! Falsehood! Lies! When’s dinner!?”

“See?” Reason stared at Roman as if the answer was obvious. “Can’t control his stomach”

“Hey, yes I can!” Gluttony said firmly, crossing his arms.

Justice shook his head. “December, 2014; Christmas Day. Whilst all of us were putting up the tree, y’all decided to-“

“Hey, hold on! We said we wouldn’t talk about that!” He recalled, feeling as though the promise was quite important. “It was very embarrassing! No need bringing it up now” He informed matter-of-factly, adjusting his green jacket. Reason and Justice turned to each other before looking back at Gluttony, gazes never faltering.

“We can If it’s proof” Reason said truthfully.

“Ah’ agree. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, we are banning you from going to the wedd’n” Justice enlightened, taking far too much joy in this.

Gluttony’s eyes widened. “No, you can’t do that! Virge’s a good friend of mine. I wouldn’t eat his wedding cake. Never, ever. You got me all wrong. Honest!” He told scarcely.

Patton pouted. “I don’t think he’s guilty, Ro” The father-like side said firmly towards Roman. “But they won’t believe me. I can’t help though... I don’t know who else it could be. I was hoping you might, but-Oh, Logan’s going to be so disappointed in me!” Patton informed sadly.

Roman really wished he could help. But he hadn’t seen any evidence of cake-eating anywhere. No frosting, sprinkles, crumbs... Wait. When he went past Deceits room (Sorry, ‘Not Deceits’ room) he saw some. Just outside the door, too. That was also in a three week time-frame. He put his hands up to get everyone’s attention.

“Wait! I think I know who our dastardly villain is” Roman said devilishly. “And honestly, its not that hard when you think of Villains”

Patton pursed his lips together. “You don’t mean..?”

“Yep. I do”

It didn’t take long for the group of five to make it to Deceits room. It wasn’t that hard to spot. Y’know, with its large words spray painted on the front saying ‘NOT DECEITS’ in big bold letters. That probably gave it away.

With a sigh, Roman knocked on the door. “Excuse me, Lies And Dolls” The fanciful side sang out. “Would you mind opening the door please?”

“No, I shan’t” He heard Deceit say as the door creaked open ever so slightly. As Roman caught sight of the side of Deceits face, he saw a lone tear streak falling down off of his scaly features. He raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “Deceit, have you been crying?”

The dark side flinched, shaking his head. “Of course not!” He objected, moving aside as he gestured to a lone table in his room where two other sides sat; reading cards. “I have just been playing Go Fish with Ignorance and Fear. That is all”

Roman was going to comment further but Reason left him no time as he grabbed Deceit by the shoulder. “I think it is a very reasonable assumption to make that you stole the wedding cake, Deceit. There were crumbs outside your door”

“Y’all are in some serious trouble” Justice said honestly.

Deceit looked appalled. “How dare you accuse me of such a thing. Well, I would never” He finished with a bit of a snicker, causing Justice to growl.

“Sorry, Deceit” Patton said, shrugging. “But if that didn’t hurt you then that means your lying. You stole the cake”

Deceit snorted. “Me? Steal the cake? Too dastardly for me, I’d say” He grabbed a handkerchief from his left pocket and rubbed imaginary crumbs off of his face teasingly. “Oh, or is it?” He asked with feigned worry.

Justice grabbed him by the arm and pulled him outside of the room. Before the door completely closed Roman swore he saw Ignorance actually appear concerned for his pal. “You are not going to the wedding in a week, ya’ hear me?” Justice instructed madly. “You are forbidden from going”

Deceit shook his arm out of Justices grip and adjusted his gloves. “Ah, yes. Because I was totally planning on going” He grumbled frustratingly.

Roman didn’t know why, but he felt like there was more to Deceits words then the side was letting on...

“Ugh, this is why nobody likes you Deceit” Gluttony hissed under his breath. “First, you eat the cake. Then, you frame me” The chubbier version of Thomas suggested with a bored expression. “You’re just hard to trust”

“What? I never framed-“ Deceit made a small noise of pain before continuing with; “But it was so fun f-framing you, Gluttony” He made a slippery smile as he pinched Gluttony’s cheek rudely. “It just gets you so upset”

Gluttony smacked his hand away. “Get your creepy gloves away from me”

“Okay. But I’ll only do it because you said so” Deceit told, pulling away.

Patton suddenly raised an eyebrow, fidgeting with his hands. “I just don’t understand, Jack-“

“Deceit” The dark side corrected quickly.

“Sorry, Deceit...” Patton bit his lip, looking puzzled. “Why’d you do it?”

“No reason” The other side said, a sinister smile creeping up on his lips. “Just for fun”

Roman didn’t buy it. Well, obviously. This was Deceit after all. “Well, listen here, Jack Fibbington-“

“That was awf-“ Deceit paused, not wanting to get hurt again. He huffed. “Good one, Roman”

“Thank you” Roman said with a sly smile. “But, uh, as I was saying... you are not allowed anywhere near the wedding” The group was about to leave when Roman, in a rush, added; “And Virgil!”

Everyone stared at him, confused. Deceit actually looked surprised for a moment before turning away and escaping back into his room. He locked the door behind him. With a fake laugh, Roman then said; “And Logan too, of course. Just saying one name over the other doesn’t mean anything” There was an unnerving silence.

Gluttony shrugged at him and walked away, Patton joining him. Reason simply had a solemn look in his eyes before venturing off. Justice then did something that Roman actually found comforting. He raised his hat slightly, rested a hand on Romans shoulder and gave four words that seemed to soothe Roman for the time being. “It’ll be okay, son” He then joined the others in leaving. Roman was now officially, standing alone.

Maybe he could talk to Virgil tomorrow. If things don’t come up.

—

Things came up. And before Roman knew it, it was one day until the wedding. He felt a massive lump forming in his stomach. There was a part of him that hoped he’d get sick, just so he had a good reason not to attend. But then another part of him saying he had to. Virgil would hate it if he didn’t show up.

With a sigh, he looked at himself in the mirror. His regal stature never wavering despite how awful he felt...

...he had to start practicing that now.

He didn’t want to watch Virgil marry Logan. He liked Logan, sure, but... he just wanted Virgil all to himself. Roman wanted to hold him and hug him and kiss him and all that mushy stuff. He remembered when he had first figured out his love for Virgil. It was early in Virgil and Logan’s relationship and he had created a beach in his mind. Only the core four was there, no one else.

It was so nice. The waves crashing against the water and the seagulls chirping in the distance. And that’s when Roman heard it; Virgil’s laugh. Now, up until this point, he had been denying his feelings for the emo-nightmare constantly. ‘He is dating Logan’ his mind kept persisting, ‘He’s your frenemy or whatever’.

None of it seemed to put him at ease. Until, he heard Virgil’s laugh. At that point, it put Romans thoughts at ease, but in a different way to what the prince had been expecting. It was just... the laugh was so unlike Virgil but so like him at the same time. It was interesting. Now, Roman still had no idea what Virgil had laughed at. He didn’t even look AT him. He just heard it and surrendered himself to love. Because, deep inside, he loved Virgil. And nothing could ever change that.

With all these thoughts coursing through his mind, Roman hadn’t even noticed Memory stroll into the room. Upon seeing Roman staring blankly at a mirror, he went to grab him by the shoulder to gain his attention. Unwillingly seeing all of Romans memories of Virgil in the process.

He jumped back, and that’s what alerted Roman to his presence. He turned around sharply. “M-MEMORY!” He said, panicked. “What are you doing in here!?”

He was met with silence for a while before Memory sighed and looked away guiltily. “You... you have a lot of fond memories with Virgil, huh?” He asked softly, averting his gaze.

Roman froze. “Y-Yes. Yes I do” He admitted solemnly.

Memory fiddled with the sleeve of his silver suit anxiously before facing Roman once more with a strong expression. “You should tell him. He should know. You should get it off your chest, too” He insisted meekly. “It’ll make things a lot less cluttered in... there”

Roman took a deep breath. “Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m going to do that”

Memory frowned sadly. “But... why?”

“Because, think about it. How would it have ended?” He chuckles humourlessly. “In a flaming mess, that’s what. Life is not a Disney movie, much to my own disapproval. I can’t just whisk him away from Logan and marry him myself. For his sake, and for mine” He paused. “And for Logan’s, god, I’m not even thinking about him... what kind of monster am I?”

Memory stared at him intimidatingly. “You’re not a monster” He stated firmly.

Roman didn’t reply.

“A-Anyways...” Memory hesitantly looked down at his hand, reading from the Sharpie-covered mess. “I came here to tell you that Virgil is very thankful for all that you did. With the wedding cake and the suits. H-he’s proud that your his friend” There was love and sadness in Memory’s tone. He wasn’t sure if that would help Roman or not given his situation.

“His welcome” Roman responded blankly. “Anyways, may you make your exit. I can’t fix this suit with you standing there” He told harshly. Memory nodded weakly and left the room in a speedy exit. Then, another came in. Roman turned around and was quite surprised to see Deceit standing there. “I thought you were banned from the wedding and anything to do with it” Roman questioned coldly.

“I snuck in” Deceit said, clutching at his chest.

“I figured as much. Don’t know why you insisted on telling me the truth there though” Roman noted confusedly. “Still, it’s nice; I will admit”

Deceit took a hearty breath and looked over at Roman. “I kn-Ow!” He went to feel his cheek, as if it was burning. There was a brief pause. “I know how you feel!” He finished in a rush, like he was expecting something to happen.

Roman just stared at him, a bewildered expression on his face. “I don’t understand..?”

“You don’t. You know that much, right?” A lie. But still truthful in what he was trying to say. “Virgil is quite a guy, isn’t he? Likes stabbing people in the back. Nobody likes him”

He was talking in reverse, to outmanoeuvre his curse of sorts. Roman blinked a couple times in realisation. “You ‘like’ Virgil too”

“Yes-Ouch!” He jumped in pain.

Roman clenched his jaw and faced away. “Why tell me this? I appreciate your honesty but... why?”

Deceit didn’t answer.

“Deceit?” Roman took a step forward. He was met with a low, sniffling noise. “Are you okay?”

Deceit nodded before walking off, out of the room. “I have to go. Before I get-AUGH!” He clenched his fists to try and distract himself from the pain. “Before I get caught... see you around, Roman” And with that, he was out of sight.

Roman watched in complete confusion. “That was... odd” He couldn’t help but comment to himself.

—

Alas, the day had come.

Roman had to, Unfortunately, sit in the front row. There were bundles and bundles of Thomas’s everywhere. Sometimes he wished he was like Thomas, and just thought their were four (five, now) sides that existed. It made things so much easier.

Thomas also didn’t know about the wedding. The sides never involved Thomas with their romantic endeavours. It would probably just puzzle him beyond belief.

Roman watched as Logan and Virgil got into place. Virgil began to say his vows, and Roman felt bad that he wasn’t listening. He just couldn’t.

He was sitting next to Sleep and Narcissism (He wanted to sit next to Morality, but the father-figure had, of course, made promises to just about everyone else beforehand) and Sleep wasn’t paying any attention to the vows either; just browsing through tumblr on his phone. Narcissism on the other hand, was watching the wedding with a glimmer in his eyes. Roman was actually proud of the self-absorbed side.

Before the event, he had actually complimented Virgil on his ensemble.

And meant it.

That was more then he’d ever done. Maybe this wedding was making everyone weird..?

Suddenly, he was nudged in the side by Narcissism as Logan began to say his vows. Roman, for the first time that night, began listening.

Promise, who had been acting as the priest, then said to Logan with a calming smile; “Logan, say ‘I take thee Virgil’”

There was a pause.

Logan took a deep breath. “I take thee Patton”

Virgil nearly choked. “W-what?”

A loud, ringing silence took over the room. Logan’s eyes widened when he realised what he had just said. “Sorry, everyone. I just misspoke, is all. Mind carrying on from where we left off?” He turned over to Promise, who stared at him with a shocked face.

Everyone in the audience was dead quiet.

The only noises were Sleep lifting up his phone to take a picture and Gluttony eating a bunch of egg rolls by the buffet table in the corner. Virgil then started shaking. He looked at everyone, just staring at him, and ran. Roman then wished at that moment that he had sabotaged the wedding; Just so he didn’t have to see Virgil’s hurt face at that very moment.

Logan was still standing in place, not moving a muscle. He too ran after a few seconds had passed, but not after Virgil. In the opposite direction...

Everyone else stayed in the wedding-place, shocked murmurs spreading through-out of the room.

“Did that really just happen?” Belief said, confused.

“Girl, this wedding just got interesting. Better then the concert I had scheduled” Sleep said callously.

“I didn’t... I didn’t anticipate that” Memory brought up warily.

“Did anyone? It goes perfectly against good reason!” Reason then said angrily.

Justice nodded. “‘Yup”

Roman watched in shock and suddenly looked in the direction that Virgil went longingly. “I need to go find Virgil” He said softly.

However, he was pulled back by a gloved hand and pushed to the floor. “Not this time” He heard a sinister voice retort gleefully. “This is my chance”

The only sight of the culprit he saw was a bowler hat and one yellow, gleaming eye. It didn’t take much detective work to figure out who it was.

Roman growled madly. “Deceit.”

 


	2. The Dream Locker

As all the sides talked about what had just conspired, Roman got up off the floor and chased Deceit. There was no way he was going to let that scoundrel get there first. However, just before he could get close enough to stop him, Patton came in-between the two with a worried expression. “Roman!” He cried out, scared.

Deceit continued to move as Roman was held up by the worried father-figure. With a groan, Roman asked; “What is it, Patton? I’m kind of busy at the moment” He kept trying to see Deceit from behind Patton, but only managed to get glimpses of the cape that the dark side wore.

Patton, ignoring Romans annoyance, suddenly felt tears beginning to form under his eyes. “What are we gonna do, Roman? Logan said my name. Mine!” He paused, lip quivering. “I feel so bad for Virgil. What-What if it’s my fault?” He whimpered, burying his face into his hands. “Everyone’s going to hate me...”

“Patton...” Roman took a step forward and rested a hand on Patton’s shoulder. “Everything is going to be fine. Trust me, okay? But you need to be strong. Now, I need to go find Virgil before-“

“Girl, we need to talk. Now”

Romans head snapped around to see Sleep standing there, hands in his pockets. The princes eyes flickered between Patton and where Virgil had ran solemnly. “Sleep.” He began softly. “Can’t you see that I’m busy?”

“I can, but trust me, this is way more important” Sleep muttered. “It’s Dream, after all”

There was a pause as Patton wiped away his tears and pushed Roman back a bit lightly. “You can go” He told, forcing a smile. “I’m sure I’ll be fine”

“Alright then” Roman said, nodding reluctantly. He turned over to face Sleep and flinched as he was grabbed by the wrist and unwillingly pulled away. They were brought into a corner, far from anyone’s attention, and Sleep looked over at Roman thoughtfully; Still holding his wrist. Roman then snatched his hand away and furrowed his brows at the tired-side. “Okay, Sleep... so what was so important that I had to abandon my crying friend for?”

“Don’t try to guilt me, Girl” Sleep retorted glumly, rolling his eyes. “You weren’t going to stay with him anyways. I overheard your conversation”

“Oh, did you now?” Roman offered a sly smile.

“Yes” Sleep replied firmly. “Now, come”

Roman spluttered for a moment, surprised. “W-what? But... you haven’t told me what has happened yet?” He leant forward, hoping the side would supply him with an answer.

“Think, girl” Sleep said. “There was just a wedding where some nerd said the wrong name at the altar. What do you think were gonna talk about?”

“Yes, but you said this was Dream” Roman responded dryly. “He hardly ‘wastes time’ in dramatic affairs”

“Who said it was the ‘drama’ that worried him?” Sleep shot back, arching an eyebrow.

That shut Roman up. With a huff, he followed Sleep as the two of them left the room. They walked down the ever-long hallway and Roman stopped for a moment when he heard sniffling coming from Virgil’s room. This... this was his chance. As he reached out for the doorknob his hopes were immediately silenced by Sleep.

“Not now, Roman” The side instructed coldly.

Roman then grimaced as the two continued their journey. Eventually, they came to the door at the end. It was different from the rest. Unlike the others which were single doors, this one was a double door. It took more then a turn of a doorknob to open. This one, in fact, required a key. Not seeming to have one at the time, Sleep merely stepped up and knocked on the door. He then stood back again and stared at Roman.

“Girl, do you ever wonder what’s in that one?” Roman turned over to what Sleep was referring to. On the other side of the hallway was another door like this one. A double, seeming to require a key of some sorts.

“Sometimes” Roman admitted. “But I think it’s hardly important”

“True, but-“

Sleep was cut off by the door before them opening, revealing stairs that seemed to go down forever. Sleep looked over at Roman expectantly. With a sigh, Roman raised a hand which engulfed itself in an orange light. They then began to walk down. “The four doors” Roman found himself saying. “What do each of them represent?”

“Night, Evil, Good And Strength” Sleep replied blankly.

“Yes, but why?” Roman mumbled.

Sleep shrugged. “It doesn’t concern me”

They came to the bottom of the stairs, finally, and saw Dream standing in the middle of a large room; Colourful orbs flying around him. He was wearing a long, midnight-coloured cape. Taking notice of their presence, he turned over to face them. His right cheek was covered with three stars: One blue, two white. “There you are” He greeted flatly. “Where have you guys been?”

“At the wedding, girl” Sleep told. “Where you should’ve been”

Dream clenched his jaw. “You know how I feel about stuff like that” He replied irritably. There was a brief silence as the side grabbed a pink orb and broke it into pieces. Almost like glass, the shattered remnants fell to the floor with a piercing sound. Dream lifted a foot instinctively, careful as to not step on them. “Oops”

“Hold on” Roman stood up taller, looking angry. “Was that one of mine?”

Dream frowned slightly before making a sound of annoyance and dismissal. “Who cares if it was? They can’t stay in Thomas’s head forever. If I hadn’t got to it, Memory probably would have taken care of it”

Roman crossed his arms childishly. “But he could’ve used it for a video!”

“Could he have?” Dream questioned. “A character he made when he was seven, that has no personality whatsoever, would have been a perfect fit in one of his videos?” The side then shook his head promptly. “You’ve got to be joking...”

“There was always the Inspiration Room, Dream” Roman reminded. “Why couldn’t it have been put there?”

“Because frankly, I don’t have the time” He responded, scowling. Roman poked out his tongue and Sleep snickered slightly. With a grumble, Dream added; “Now... you’re probably wondering why I’ve brought you here-”

“Finally” Roman said. “Answers”

Dream pursed his lips together. “Not really. I was going to tell you ‘you’re probably wondering why I’ve brought you here, but don’t worry. I’ll tell you when the others get here’” Dream elaborated, not hiding the devilish joy it gave him to see Romans annoyed face.

The fanciful side groaned at his words and put his hands in the air, frustrated. “Dream, why can’t you just tell us why we’re here now and then bring the others up to speed when they get here?” He asked irritably.

“Too tiring” Dream said, shrugging.

It took a few minutes for the other sides to get there. Sleep, strangely enough, didn’t take the opportunity to do his job. But, then again, this was sleep; he didn’t care about his duties no matter what was happening. Roman, on the other hand, was sitting on the floor and rocking back and forth with rage like a child. They awaited the next couple of sides arrival.

First, it was Thought. He was wearing a pink shirt and similarly coloured wings hung out from his back. He gave Roman and Sleep a small wave. “Hey, guys. What’s going on?”

“No idea” Roman spat out. He was just so infuriated. He wanted to go and see Virgil. He couldn’t do that unless Dream got this over with. He may have loved Virgil, but whenever meetings like this were called it was usually regarding Thomas’s mental state. He couldn’t risk damaging something like that over his silly affections. Suddenly, he heard footsteps come up beside him. He looked up and saw ‘Psychology’ extending a hand.

“Hello, Roman” The side nodded towards him, voice kind and welcoming.

“Psyche” Roman said, taking the hand that was being offered and pulling himself up.

Afterwards, Psychology let go of Romans hand and then used it to adjust his glasses. He smiled warmly. “I hope that you are doing quite well. Especially after the ceremony...” He told calmly. There was something about the way Psychology spoke that made it seem like he knew what would happen way before it even occurred. It was like a reassuring presence that knew everything would be okay in the end...

Roman had always been friends with Psychology; Especially when they were kids (The sides were whatever age Thomas was. They grew up with him, and as such, grew into their responsibilities) which was strange because usually ‘Child-Roman’ would never associate with someone he perceived to be a nerd. And, by all means, did Roman see Psychology as one. Granted, he wasn’t as bad as Logan... In fact, Logan didn’t even like Psychology.

He thought that Thomas’s feelings were just holding him back and that was Psychology’s department. And, as any normal person would, Psychology wouldn’t throw the feelings away; no matter how many times Logan requested.

Patton had told him once that he feels as though Logan doesn’t like feelings because he doesn’t understand them. Psychology actually disagreed. He believed that Logan thought that without feelings, Thomas could become overwhelmingly intelligent: that it was more of a power-want then anything. He came to the conclusion that Logan wanted to be the most important side. Not in a whiny way, but more in a way that reassured him due to the persistent callings of him being the ‘least favourite’. He wouldn’t need to be the fan-favourite if he was the most important, after all.

Roman somewhat agreed with those beliefs too. He believed that even though Psychology was the closest, Patton did have a bit of it down; but he didn’t say anything about in front of the two. He was creativity! It wasn’t like he was very good at knowing how people felt and stuff. He’d proved as much to Anxiety...

...and maybe that’s why he liked Psychology: Because he helped him with that kind of thing. He was also the only person that Roman shared his insecurities with as well. Well, aside from the ‘people’ in his room, but they seemed to pry it out of him more then let it come out naturally.

“Uh, Ro? Dude? You do realise I’m here too, right?”

Romans eyed widened and he looked beside Psychology to see DayDream as well. The side was standing there, giving an all-knowing smirk. DayDream wore an outfit that very much resembled Dreams. The only difference being the colour; DayDreams being sort of a Sunrise and covered in little suns. He also dawned an orange pair of shades that hid his eyes, and Dream didn’t have anything like that. And to be honest, Dream seemed to loathe that kind of thing.

“Ah, of course. Sorry, Day” Roman said, winking at the newly presented side. “I did not see you there” He admitted weakly.

“Figured. Everyone’s been kind of out of it since the wedding” He made a short, whistling noise. “Gee, that was something”

“You were there?” Roman tilted his head to the side in confusion. “I don’t remember seeing you”

“Ah, yeah. That’s ‘cause I wasn’t. But, bro, I heard about it; word spread quickly. Poor Virge” DayDream informed solemnly, his smile dipping into a frown. However, as with DayDreams constantly peppy attitude, it returned just as quickly as it had been put down and erupted into a cheeky grin. “Kinda wished I had seen it though, dude! Would’ve been one hell of a party. Unfortunately, when Dream works I have to stay around. Pick up his little afterthoughts and such”

Dream scoffed. “Day, you don’t have to do that. You choose to do that” He pointed out dryly. “Thomas doesn’t have to remember his dreams the following day, you know”

“But then you’ll be for- never mind. Whatever, dude...“ Day cut himself off, sighing. Dream eyed him curiously. “Yo, Ro!” Day randomly blurted out, causing Roman to jump. “Now that Logan’s out of the picture or whatever, you considered making a move yet?”

Yes. “No.” Roman lied, shaking his head.

“Why not, bro?” Day then asked, puzzled. There was a pause as realisation sunk into his features. “Oh right. Because... yeah, it might be a bit sensitive to do it now, huh?” He bit his lip.

Roman nodded. “Yes. Uh, sensitive”

Psychology patted Roman on the back comfortingly. “I feel as though it wouldn’t actually be wise to keep this a secret due to recent events. If you have something to say to Virgil, he would prefer it if you brought it up quickly. He might consider holding back the information as a betrayal” Psychology informed matter-of-factly. He knew that Roman had lied, that’s why he was saying this. Then again, Psychology never exactly... ‘lied’.

DayDream seemed stunned for a moment, shades dipping slightly to reveal the tip of his eyelashes. The rare sight didn’t appear for too long though as he pushed the shades further up his nose and back in place again. He beamed. “You always know the facts, P” He said complimentarily. Psychology adjusted his tie, seeming pleased with the words.

“Thank you” He said softly.

“Excuse me, everyone!” Dream suddenly cried out, gaining everyone’s attention. There was a small, uncomfortable silence as said side cleared his throat before continuing with; “I’m guessing you want to know why I’ve asked you here today!”

“Yes!” Roman replied eagerly.

Dream, ignoring Romans outburst, began to pace around the room. “As a lot of you know, Logan’s and Virgil’s wedding didn’t exactly go to plan-“

“I’ve always kind of known it would break up. There were always little hints and everything. Do you remember when we went to get lunch, and Virgil wouldn’t get Logan a sandwich? He told him to do it himself. And then there was that time that Logan got distracted by the stars instead of discussing with Logan directly. And finally, how about when Virgil eyed-“ He was silenced as Dream raised a hand, his lips suddenly sticking together.

“Thought... do you mind?” Dream scolded, glaring angrily.

Thought smiled sheepishly. “Right.” He said, though considering his lips were sealed tight, it came out as a muffled ‘Rmmmm’ more then anything else.

Dream rolled his eyes disappointedly. “Alright. So, basically, let’s just say it has left Virgil and Logan out of commission for the moment...” He told, worriedly. “And that isn’t good for Thomas or, in a less important matter, us”

“How come?” DayDream questioned curiously.

“Because...” Psychology stepped up, a hand to his chest. Dream looked a little bummed; almost as if he wanted to be the one to explain. “If both Logic and Anxiety are out of the question, then that means we may need to take drastic measures. After all, a mind that lacks common sense and Logic is very dangerous” He elaborated truthfully. “To himself, and to others”

“Well, that’s not good” Thought said. “What do we do?”

Dream huffed. “We start taking drastic measures, Thought” He told unhappily. “Roman?”

“Hmm?” The creative side perked up.

“You may need to be our first step” He said regrettably.

Roman paused. “What? I know what you want me to do, but it’s not a good idea. None of the other sides know anything is wrong, correct?” Psychology and Dream nod. “Well, they will if I’m not out there comforting Virgil. They know we’re friends. The only thing that can distract me from that is you” He pointed accusingly towards Dream. The side in question sighed.

“Roman, Roman, Roman...” Dream rambled, groaning. “There’s one thing your not realising”

“And what is that?” Roman snapped back.

“They’re going to think you just wanted to avoid the whole drama” Dream retorted smartly. “Think of it, alright? You are best friends with Virgil, you are best friends with Logan. This is probably going to become a hefty fight. You wouldn’t want any part in it, would you? No, no you wouldn’t, you’d avoid it-“

“Fairy God Bother... No offence, but are you trying to hypnotise me?” Roman said with a cocky smirk.

“Believe it or not, you’re not too far off” Psychology brought up warily.

Dream groaned. “Hush, P”

“Hey, you call him P too!” DayDream said. “I thought you told me that was strictly stupid?” He added with a snarky tone.

“I never said that” Dream denied. “It’s... that’s a lie...”

They were interrupted by Roman making a pained noise. “Guys, I can’t... Doom And Gloom is up in his room; probably crying right now. I can’t just leave him like that for a couple weeks and watch as Deceit stands by him and-” Roman quickly put his hands over his mouth.

Dream blinked a couple times and DayDream adjusted his shades before they slid down again. Psychology seemed slightly calm. Thought stayed oddly silent. It was Sleep who spoke up; “Girl, for starters, you’ve used Doom And Gloom like a hundred times” He began flatly. “And also, is Deceit with Virgil right now?”

Roman gave a small nod. “Yes.”

“Why?” Dream breathed out.

“Unsure” Roman replied.

“We’ve got to get down there now” Dream told sternly, looking around at everyone.

“How come?” Thought tilted his head to the side.

Dream took a deep breath, clenching his fists. “Because I have a hunch, and if that hunch is right, then Virgil is in grave danger” 


	3. Deceitful Tricks (Appropriately Named)

How could Roman have been so foolish? Leaving Virgil with Deceit was just readying itself up for chaos. He should have been more careful! Then again, this was Roman. He may have had some ulterior motive. Dream wasn’t sure what it was, honestly, but it had to be something. Maybe he had been fooled by Deceit? It wouldn’t be too far off. The creative side had been tricked by the dark one before, after all. Heck, even twice! But would Roman really be that stupid to be tricked three times in a row..?

Probably. This _was_ Roman, Dream had to remember that.

As they ran down the ever-long hallway, they came across Narcissism along the way. He arched an eyebrow at them. “What are you guys doing?”

Not wanting to seem suspicious, they stopped in place. “Nothing!” Thought blurted out. Dream turned to glare at him. Thought always tended to say whatever came to mind, for better or worse. Upon catching Dreams angered gaze, Thought then gave an embarrassed laugh and shifted from one foot to the other. “Sorry” He said weakly.

Narcissism merely shrugged at the actions presented by the two before gasping dramatically. He rushed towards Dream and put a hand through his hair. “Dream! What is wrong with your hair?” He asked loudly, as if this effected him personally in some shape or form.

The side in question groaned in annoyance as he flicked Narcissisms hand away. “It’s fine, Narcissism” He told sternly. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind, we have to-“

“No, it’s not!” Narcissism protested. He rested an arm around Dreams shoulders tightly. “I know you all can’t look as beautiful as me, but cant you at least try?” He questioned sorrowfully. Dreams right eye twitched slightly. Psychology, knowing fully well how Dream feels about physical contact, quickly came in-between the two. He urged the self-absorbed side to stand back, which he soon complied to.

“I believe that Dream just hasn’t had the time with all of his responsibilities, Narcissism” Psychology informed matter-of-factly, adjusting his tie. “After all, without his help, Thomas wouldn’t even get any sleep. And though I agree that he should be taking better care of himself I feel as though there are ways to do it that won’t make him feel uncomfortable. Understand?” The intellectual side asked, tilting his head to the side. There was a short pause.

Eventually, Narcissism nodded slowly. “I guess you’re right...” He admitted, frowning. A brief silence came over them all before Narcissism added speedily; “But just because Psychology saved you this time doesn’t mean your looks are doomed forever! I will aid you, as is my new quest to be nice” He proclaimed enthusiastically.

“You’re still on that, girl?” Sleep questioned, summoning a milkshake in their hand. He took a sip before making the drink vanish, now checking his phone and browsing through some sort of social media site. He snorted. “Jeez, get a life” He then said, tongue in cheek.

“Look whose talking” Narcissism shot back, smirking confidentially.

Sleep looked up at him for a moment before shaking his head dismissively. “Whatever...”

“Listen comrades, aren’t we forgetting something?” Roman prompted, hands on his hips. The sides all turned to look at him; confused. “Seriously, don’t tell me that you’ve all forgot just because of this farce?” He asked irritably. From what he had heard, Virgil could be in ‘grave’ danger. Why weren’t any of them taking that more seriously? Roman was, and he needed to see Virgil now: just to make sure that ‘Jack The Fibber’ hadn’t so much as touched him.

“Romans right” Dream stated. He began to walk away from the group and in the direction of Virgil’s door. As everyone stood in place (aside from Roman) Dream turned back to look at them. “You guys coming or what?” He questioned, voice laced with hostility. They all nodded and quickly followed pursuit. Well, except for Narcissism who simply turned on his heel and wandered the other way.

As they continued their journey, Roman cast a worried glance over-towards Dream. “So, what kind of ‘grave danger’ is it?” He inquired scarcely.

Dream merely shrugged. “Nothing good” The side responded flatly.

Roman hissed. “I know that” He said through gritted teeth. “But like, can’t you just elaborate a little? No offence, Bedsnobs and Gloomsticks, but you are really starting to get on my bad side by not just getting to the point-“

“I thought I already was?” Dream abruptly told, cutting in unexpectedly.

“Well, uh, no” Roman denied, forcing a smile. “But, if you continue like this...”

“No offence, Ro, but we’ve been friends for years. You already know this about me. Just because your crush is in danger doesn’t mean you’re allowed to get on my case, alright? Or even stop being my friend, for that matter” Dream ranted, voice growing more agitated by the second. Roman watched him, mouth hanging open. “And also, even if you did somehow abandon me over this little squabble, I wouldn’t be losing much in the grand scheme of things, okay?” He growled, speeding up his walking.

Roman crossed his arms childishly as he tried to still walk alongside the night-side. “Someone needs to work on their people skills” He said annoyedly.

“Logan first” Dream fired back.

Roman huffed. “Actually, no. I think you need it more. At least Logan’s polite”

“He tries to be” Psychology randomly butted in. “But I don’t think he’s always honest when going about that simple pleasantry”

Dream gave a sly smile. “See? If Psychology agrees that it’s stupid, then it surely is. I win”

“Now, hold on” Psychology urged, pushing his glasses further up his nose. “I never said that being polite was a bad thing. I just think that it’s more healthy to mean what you say. And to be honest, judging by the way you lash out at people-“

“I don’t lash out at people!?” Dream protested.

“Ha!” DayDream snickered. “Busted!”

“-I feel as though you agree with me, also. You want to be polite but due to unfortunate events that occurred as a child in the mind-scape, you are afraid of who to trust. You feel as though being polite to someone should only be reserved for when you find that person to be the most trustworthy person in your existence” Psychology rambled onwards, causing Dream to stiffen. “And, unfortunately, i don’t think those expectations are possible. It’s... I’m worried about you, Dream”

“Save it for the weekly sessions, P” Dream advised, looking quite miffed.

There was an uncomfortable silence afterwards. “Dude, you take those?” DayDream then raised an eyebrow, curious. “I thought they were only saved for the ‘troubled’ sides and what-not”

Dream clenched his jaw awkwardly. “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. Because-“

“I feel as though it does” Psychology brought up. “Perhaps if we all admitted whether we took them or not, people would be more wary on how they treated us” He gave a short glance to Roman; who froze up upon sight. “That could help you especially, Roman”

“Yeah, Yeah. We get it. I’m rude to people. Har har” Roman faked a grin, stomping his right foot angrily.

“You know that’s not what I meant. C’mon, maybe if we tell him, Dream will feel more happy. Thomas’s emotions need to stay in check. If Dream gets upset constantly, as he does now, that could damage his health. This could fix that... temporarily, at least” He told matter-of-factly.

“Thomas’s. It’s always Thomas” Dream muttered. Psychology then eyed the night-side, smiling a bit. Roman knows what he’s doing. He’s trying to supply fake information to get the real information. He doesn’t agree with the method, but it could help. But why did he have to bring up real information into it? Maybe because he knows Dream will just wipe it off later as all complete nonsense... well, hopefully, anyways.

“Dude, we’re just looking out for you” DayDream informed sweetly.

Dream gazed at the sunny side for a moment, his cheeks reddening, before he made a sound of frustration. “Ugh, whatever. The reason I was saying it doesn’t matter wasn’t about my stupid feelings or whatever. It was because we’re here!” Dream shouted, gesturing towards the door before them. “You should know I don’t get all sappy like that...”

There was a pause.

“Oh” Roman pursed his lips together.

“Sorry, dude” DayDream told quietly.

“I to; am sorry” Psychology apologised. “I just needed to get what I needed, is all”

Sleep then looked at the group one by one. With a shrug, he stuffed his phone into his right pocket and stood directly in-front of the door. He raised a hand. “You’re not just going to knock, are you?” Dream questioned blankly.

Sleep sighed. “You know, I’m going to do it if you treat me like that” He replied.

“You wouldn’t” Dream told snappily. “That would just be plain stupid”

“Ugh, girl...” Sleep pouted, shoulders slumping. “What did I just say?”

Realisation sunk into Dreams features as he jumped forward in a desperate attempt to stop Sleep from knocking. It did nothing, and soon the deed was done. Dream looked like he anticipated something horrible to happen... but nothing occurred. “W-what?” He seemed shocked. He straightened his back hesitantly, now standing upright. “Well, I guess as long as we don’t say his name-“

“Yo, girl! Virge!” Sleep called out, leaning on the door. “You in there or what? Roman swore he saw you run back here. He also saw Deceit-you know, ugly snake face- follow you? Just wanted to make sure you were alright” He concluded, beginning to check his nails.

Dream furrowed his brows at the tired-side frustratingly. “What is wrong with you!? This is serious!?” He yelled madly.

Sleep subtly put a hand in his left pocket, biting his lip. “Calm down, girl. Everything’s cool”

Dream watched him, confused. He took a deep breath. “Fine. If you say s-“

Without warning, the door behind Sleep burst open. “‘Ugly snake face’, huh?” A soft voice cooed. Sleep felt himself be pulled inside and strangely had very little reaction. The door closed behind them.

“You shan’t worry, Sleep!” Roman announced, stomping over to the door proudly. “I shall save you from the clutches of evil!” He grabbed the doorknob and tried to open the door as quickly as possible. It didn’t budge. “But, uh- it seems as though the door is stuck... tell me, can you see Virgil in there? Speak to us, what’s going on?” A long silence penetrated the room, until a deafening scream pierced their ears.

Dream suddenly pushed everyone aside, raising a midnight-gloved hand. He whispered something, inaudible to the others, and the door quickly vanished. Everyone rushed forward aside from Thought. DayDream looked over at him.

“Dude, come on. Sleeps in massive trouble!”

Thought shivered a little, feeling nervous about this. “Yeah, um... here’s the thing. I’ve been thinking, like, on second thought-“

“Bro, you’re ‘Thought’. Don’t you always act on your first one?” DayDream quizzed, tone snarky.

“I mean, yeah...” Thought meekly confirmed.

“And what was your first thought this time? DayDream asked.

“To help, but-“

“Then come on!” DayDream ordered. He grabbed Thought by the wrist and practically dragged him inside. As they came into the dark room, they quickly found that they couldn’t see anything. DayDream adjusted his shades, trying to get a proper view of their surroundings. “Man, if I didn’t have these shades on this would be so much easier”

“Then take them off..?” Thought suggested.

“Yeeaahh... no” There was a curious pause. “Where are Dream, Roman and Psychology?”

Thought bit his lip. “I don’t know”

They then continued to traverse through the room scarcely; DayDream calling out everyone’s names as they did so. Thought looked around the room and began to catch small glimpses of thing... cobwebs, spiders, pumpkins. He stilled. “Haunted.” He randomly spoke, eyes wide.

“Hmm?” DayDream cocked an eyebrow. “What, bro?”

“Haunted. This place is haunted” Thought retorted, shaking. “It’s got ALL the signs”

“I happen to agree. I may like the ‘emo nightmare’ and all but he does not have a good eye for interior design” Roman sneered. His eyes lingered on a ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ poster for a moment before reluctantly adding in a wistful tone; “Though he does have his strong points”

“We get it, he’s dreamy” Dream said dryly from behind him. “Now, can we just concentrate on finding Sleep?” He questioned anxiously.

“And Virgil” Roman shot back quickly.

Dream shook his head in disbelief. “How did Virgil never realise your feelings for him? It was so obvious” The night-side asked more to himself then anybody else in the room.

DayDream and Thought stared at the two for a while. “Dude, bro... how long have you guys been there? We’ve been looking for you!” The sunny-side informed, beaming at having reunited with them. Thought just looked finally content.

“Same as us. Somehow, despite us coming in at the same time, we have departed from Psychology” Roman then analysed the two for a moment. “You two haven’t seen Sir Bubble Breaker, have you?” They shook their head. “Well, that’s not good”

“Do not be concerned. I am here” A voice called out, relatively far away. The group looked in the direction and saw Psychology standing there, in his average brown suit, staring down at a pained side. They were clutching their face and rolling about.

“Sleep!” Roman shouted. Psychology shook his head. The fanciful side gasped. “...Virgil?”

“Incorrect again. Though, I shall say that his wellbeing isn’t making me upset” Psychology responded, voice flat. “Little hint, there”

“Deceit!” Roman realised, scowling. He rushed towards the two and saw Deceit rolling about. He had a nasty cut on his right cheek. “What happened to him?” Roman asked, intrigued. Psychology tilted his head in the direction of the newly appeared Sleep. Romans eyed widened, astonished. “That’s marvellous. How did you do it?”

Sleep spared him a short glimpse before saying; “I summoned a blade in my pocket just before the door opened”

“Genius” Roman commented, bowing.

“Eh” Sleep shrugged. “The Idea was from Tumblr”

Roman squinted at him. “Wha..?”

“You’re all so smart, aren’t you?” Deceit cried out at them, glaring. “Here, friends. Have my sincerest congratulations. You deserve it!” He hissed angrily. He then looked over at Sleep longer than the others, muttering a plethora of curse words. “Especially you, Sleep. Well done. You deserve a gold medal!” He shouted crazily. Sleep simply rolled his eyes.

Roman then stared down at the dark side intimidatingly. The tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. “Where’s Virgil?” He asked coldly. 

“Oh...” Deceit cackled. “You wouldn’t want to know that, would you?”

“If I didn’t want to know, then why would I ask?” Roman merely replied with, tone resigned.

Deceit paused, sneering. “Not here” He said. “But fine”

“Liar” Roman gritted out.

“A liar, Roman, is the one thing that I am” Deceit snickered. “And It’s all I’ll ever be”

“Deceit” Psychology said. The dark side looked over at him, grimacing. “You do realise confidence is the key to success whilst over-confidence is the key to failure” He spoke wisely, removing his glasses for a split-moment. He pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket and wiped them clean, almost out of boredom. “Why do you do this, Jack?”

“Deceit. It’s Deceit” The dark side shot back instantly.

“No. It’s Jack” Psychology then corrected, eyes staring down intently. Deceit mumbled something harsh under his breath. “You can try to pretend as though I don’t know you well enough, but I do. You are not acting in a healthy manner, Jack. You’re not well. You need to-“

“I am well enough, thank you!” Deceit spat.

“Who cares about that, ‘doctor’” Roman said, scoffing at Psychology. “We only care about finding Virgil” Psychology appeared unhappy at that, shaking his head in disapproval. Roman paid no mind.

Deceit rolled his eyes with a smile. “Easier said then done, friend. He’s long gone. In fact, he shall never be seen again” He smiled cockily. Roman eyed the dark side for a moment before his eyes widened. The others in the group befell the same response. They watched as a previously unseen figure approached them, face covered by his hoodie.

“I’ll give you that, Deceit” Virgil said softly. “You were right. They would immediately suspect you”

“V-Virgil! You’re o-okay!” Roman broke out into a grin, rushing towards the dark side excitedly.

However, he was stopped by Virgil himself; who pushed him back. “Nice try, Princey” He told, chuckling. “But I just saw what you tried to do”

Roman hummed in confusion. “And what did I try and-“

“You automatically presumed Deceit was up to no good... just because he was a dark side. I wonder what you think of me then?” He murmured sadly.

“I only came because Dream told me to!” Roman said, pointing over at Dream just as quickly as he had been addressed.

Dream stilled. “Really, Roman?”

“Heh. It is true though” DayDream muttered, chortling.

“Always one to pass the blame, eh’ Roman? Honestly, I’m getting tired of it. Just own up to your own mistakes already” Virgil scolded, crossing his arms. Roman wanted to say something, like how he wasn’t actually the one to propose the idea. But, then again, he did consider it. “Seriously, why are you always obsessed with the idea of heroes and villains? There’s no such thing. Well, except... if you think about it...”

Psychology cleared his throat. “Virgil. Mind if I put in my professional input?”

“Sure” The side said, smiling cooly.

“I feel that... maybe this would not be the best way to handle things. It may hurt Romans feelings” He stated matter-of-factly. He then put his glasses back on, fiddling with the end pieces of them. Virgil seemed unpleased with Psychology’s words, much to the intellectual sides surprise. “...Is that not what you want, Virgil?”

“No. Why would it-“ He paused, huffing. “Of course. It’s not like Roman used to bully me all the time or anything” He said tiredly. “Because it was all me, wasn’t it?”

“On the contrary” Psychology opposed simply. “You both were at fault. However, if I were to account for Romans state at the moment, then I’d have to disagree with you” He then patted Roman on the back reassuringly. “He is getting better”

“That’s a lie” Virgil challenged. “And you know it...”

“I don’t lie” Psychology countered reasonably. There was a short, awkward silence as he looked over at Dream briefly. “Unless to gain results, of course”

“So, you’re doing that now?” Virgil prompted. Roman grew worried.

“That technique doesn’t work with Roman. His feelings would be hurt, in fact” Psychology stated firmly. He tried to give Roman a convincing look, however he was overcome with the strong feeling that it wouldn’t work. His doubts were manifesting. “Maybe this is all an outcome derived from Virgil’s room? Caroline, you can calm down now. Everything is fine”

“Huh?” Virgil blinked. “Caroline?”

“You know who that is, Virgil. Please tell me you haven’t forgotten: it is unlike you” Psychology pointed out fearfully. Virgil froze.

“Of course he knows” Deceit responded, twitching slightly. Sleep raised an eyebrow.

Virgil then took a deep breath, massaging his temple. “Can you all please get out of my room? Except you, Deceit: we need to talk” He instructed coldly. The group all looked at each other, puzzled. “Now” Virgil then urged, quicker and more monotone.

Dream took a step forward, seeming suspicious. “But-“

“Out!” Virgil shouted.

As if they were pulled by a sudden dark force; Thought, Roman, DayDream, Psychology, Sleep and Dream were dragged out as the door (it has re-appeared somehow) slammed behind them. They were now on the floor, just outside of Virgil’s room. Roman formed into a small little ball, cuddling his knees. “He was so mad” He whispered. “At... me”

Psychology nodded. “Yes. But, not for long. He is probably just irritable over the wedding”

“Right.” Roman didn’t believe it. There was an unnerving moment of stillness.

“Excuse me, but why are you six outside of Virgil’s room? It is quite an unusual sight” They all snapped their heads around to see Logan standing upright, eyeing them confusedly. He was holding a bouquet of flowers (‘yellow chrysanthemums’) and a box of chocolates in a plum-coloured box. They all stayed oddly silent, staring at him. “Um... excuse me?” The logical side called again worriedly.

“He’s going to give the flowers and chocolates to Virgil and then the two will get back together!” Thought squealed. Everyone looked at him strangely. He cleared his throat, making a nervous squeak in the process. “...Sorry”

Logan gave a soft smile as he adjusted his tie. “Well, you are not too far off. That is the intended plan after all”

“Are you sure he’ll forgive you though?” Dream wondered aloud. If this worked then they could put this whole event behind them. But if it didn’t, things could only get worse.

Logan chuckled lightly. “I hope” He said, gulping. “I feel as though this was just a minor setback”

Roman scoffed. “‘Minor’?” He mocked.

“Definitely” Logan agreed, oblivious to Romans irritable behaviour, though there was doubt in his tone. Not many caught on to it though... Psychology did, but he was busy merely staring at the flowers Logan was holding. He hummed in contemplation. Why...

...why ‘yellow chrysanthemums‘?

—

Ignorance rubbed off the eyeshadow crudely drawn on his eyes. He looked over at Deceit, expression hopeful. “So, are you sure that if this all goes well, we’ll be friends will all the other sides?” He asked happily. Deceit eyed him, annoyed, before nodding shortly. “That’s going to be great. I can’t wait. I wish I didn’t have to upset Roman first though...” He admitted solemnly.

“Yeah. It’s a real sacrifice” Deceit sneered.

“Will Virgil be okay though?” Ignorance questioned, tilting his head to the side. “I would hate for him to be sad. That would just be unfortunate. He is our friend, too” He pouted.

Deceit feigned a whimper. “I know...” He mumbled. “So sad”

“ _Deceit, let me out of here! Where even am I-you know what? I don’t care! Just let me out! Deceit! Deceit!_ ”

Virgil’s distant voice called out to them, and Deceit snickered.

“Heh” He gave a sly smirk. “What a fool...”

Ignorance blinked a couple times. He then sighed sadly. “Wait for it...”

When realisation sunk into Deceits features, it was too late. “Ow!”


	4. I’m, Unfortunately, Listening

They could mean many things. Each colour represented something different, so it was always good to remember. Psychology always took it upon himself to recall those small, romantic details for Thomas too. Mainly because Memory was, ironically, not good at that kind of thing and Love tended to be too head-first; He’d choose a flower primarily used in funerals after all, so long as he could give it to whomever was Thomas’s romantic interest at the time.

And even though Psychology appreciated an ambitious attitude, he knew a bit of thought could always help every once in a while.

He also knew that Logan was very aware of these things, also. If it appeared logical to him, it was the only true option; nothing else counted. And, Psychology would think that getting Virgil back would require a bouquet of flowers that best represented their love. This would be a very logical thing to do and Logan would obviously comply with that. And yet, here he was!

With ‘yellow Chrysanthemums’...?

Granted, Chrysanthemums had many meanings. As stated previously, it was the colour that truly mattered. But, the colour that Logan had chosen didn’t seem right. He had picked yellow for some reason, and he should know the meaning of that, really. It wasn’t like him to forget; especially when he’s just said the wrong name at the altar. There was a reason for this. And since Psychology could be thought of as the Psychiatrist of the mind-scape, you could say that he had his own take on what this truly meant.

Before he could comment, however, one of the others spoke up.

“I think if you’re gonna apologise, girl... you should wait until he’s in a better mood” Sleep had said. Psychology stared at the tired-side for a moment before nodding. It had been quite a mess back there. It would, in fact, be best to wait.

Yet, Logan, once again... wasn’t making the most logical choice available to him.

He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie, as if from a professional distance. “I feel like that is hardly true. If I am going to correct my mistake, I should act now. It would be better for me to get a realistic response from Virgil you see, so I can see how upset he is”

To any average person, this would seem like a perfectly normal assumption to make. It even appeared like the others agreed with Logan’s statement as they all murmured words of understanding, even Roman, as they would. But Psychology knew better. Logan would know that wouldn’t be the best course of action. Especially for someone like Virgil, who could get blinded by his emotions...

“Well, I think it’s cute that you’re trying to make up for what you did” Thought told, his wings fluttering slightly. “I would’ve thrown in the towel, by now”

“Really?” Logan asked. “How come?”

Thoughts wings suddenly lowered, as if surprised by Logan’s question. He laughed nervously. “I’m just thinking that... Virgil might not be happy to see you. He might have lost all respect for you, even. By now, I would’ve figured it was over and-“ He was starting to ramble. He always got carried away like this. Yet, it may not be the best time to express his opinion in this way given the situation. “-just been like ‘there’s no coming back from this’ and ‘there goes the best thing I ever had’. Y’know, existential stuff”

Logan’s expression grew sadder and sadder with every word. “Do you really think that is true?” He asked worriedly.

Thought bit his lip. “Um...”

“It’s always best to say the truth” Psychology cut in, smiling weakly.

Logan stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. As much as Psychology’s input was useful, it would also push the intellectual side into the opposite direction. He never liked Psychology after all. Why would he listen to someone he detested?

Psychology, unfortunately, forgot that when he talked.

With a huff, Logan walked right past them and opened Virgils door (Why wasn’t it locked?) before quickly retreating inside. All of the other sides watched him with concern.

“I hope Deceit doesn’t give him a bad time” DayDream commented. He turned to the others. “Right, dudes?”

Dream shared the sentiment for a split second before it vanished completely. He groaned as he looked downwards, avoiding eye contact with anybody. “It doesn’t matter, does it? It’ll be his fault, after all” He pointed out harshly. “Now, can we just get back to the matter at hand!”

“Which is..?” Roman asked, voice low and irritable. Psychology eyed the fanciful side nervously.

Dream growled. “That we need two sides to take up their roles for the time being!” He informed frustratingly.

Romans solemn expression suddenly switched over to surprise. “Excuse me, Malice I’m Wonderland, but can you please say that again? I believe I may have misheard you” The princely figure tells, arching an eyebrow.

Dream then sighed, defeated. “No, you didn’t” He grumbled. “It’ll only be temporary. We just need two-maybe three, Patton could be effected too-sides to take over” He told matter-of-factly. “You’ll still be there, of course. Just in case Thomas needs to do a video”

Roman froze in place. “I don’t think-“

“Unfortunately, Roman... I feel like this is the only choice we have” Psychology interrupted, standing tall. He adjusted his glasses and fixed his tie. “I nominate myself to cover Patton’s role; I spend enough time handling emotions already. Sleep might also be required as well” Dream stood back confusedly. “I understand your hesitance Dream, but Thomas can not be properly functional with us at the helm. The longer he’s asleep, the better off he’ll be”

“True” Dream admitted, shoulders slumping. “But who shall be the third?”

DayDream perked up excitedly. “How about me! Full-DayDream mode activated and all that!” The sunny side said, beaming happily.

Dream scowled. “No, Day. Just... no”

“What?” DayDream pouted, annoyed. “Why?”

Dream merely shook his head in response. “Normal Day-Dream Mode is awful enough. That’s why we never put it on” He pointed out rudely.

DayDream gestured over to Roman confusedly. “But Roman does it..?”

“Only because he’s the only one who actually benefits from it” Dream informed flatly. “For me and Thought, the other people with the ability to activate it, strangely earn nothing. To have you control Thomas for however brief a time, would be ridiculous” He told strictly.

DayDream sighed. “Well, its either me or Thought and we all know how he blabbers...”

“I do not!” Thought proposed angrily.

Dream looked hurt for a couple of seconds, fiddling with his hands. “Alright then” He said, tone down to a whisper. “You can manage Thomas. It’s not like anyone else could help him or whatever” He muttered, stomping off.

DayDreams eyes widened as he realised his mistake. “Dude, wait! I didn’t mean that-“

But it was too late. Dream was still standing there, but his back was to Day. He wasn’t even bothering to listening anymore. DayDream kicked at the floor in an almost sad way. He gazed over at the others, who gave him disapproving looks. “I suppose by elimination that makes you number three” Psychology suggested limply.

DayDream frowned. “Guys-“

“What shall we do if Thomas summons us?” Roman suddenly asked, arms crossed. The others blinked a couple times, as if they hadn’t recalled that fact when coming to their decision. All except for Psychology, who let out a hearty breath.

“It appears we might have to present ourselves regardless” The intellectual side stated solemnly.

“You’re kidding” Roman replied, shocked.

“Is that really so bad, girl?” Sleep asked. “We’re not that bad. Just because you don’t like sharing the spotlight doesn’t mean we’re so awful that we could damage Thomas mentally” He said with a stern expression.

Psychology sighed. “Well-“

“Excuse me!” Roman placed a hand over his chest dramatically. “I am not that egotistical!”

Sleep offered a sly smirk. “Girl, who are you trying to fool?”

Roman spluttered for a moment. “I-Well... that...”

“Excuse me, everyone!” Psychology called out. As he seized everyone’s attention, Roman let out a relieved breath that he didn’t even know he’d been holding. “There is no need to fight. Or... to be rude” He said, gazing at Sleep. The side in question rolled his eyes. Regardless, Psychology continued with; “We just need to hope that Thomas doesn’t make a video. We can’t stop him, despite being in his mind, so we’ll just have to pray that he doesn’t consider one”

Roman looked unsure. “But, Psyche... that’s a near impossible demand...” He spoke softly.

“Even near impossible demands can happen, Roman” Psychology told with a warm smile.

Roman couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking his head. “Psyche. I said that because, alas, Thomas is summoning us now” He informed half-heartedly.

Psychology pursed his lips together. “Oh.”

“Why don’t you just not answer his summons?” Dream suggested irritably. “It’s not like he can come up to us. We need to come to him” He forced a grin.

Roman stared at the night-side, deadpanned. “But then Thomas will think something is wrong!” He stated through gritted teeth.

“Yeah?” Dream said in a mocking tone. “Well, unfortunately, things are very wrong!” He shouted madly.

The princely figure took a step back in surprise. “Listen, Dream-“

“What?” The side hissed.

There was a pause as Roman huffed. “Sorry, but... we need to answer his call. And judging by the fact it’s been going on throughout all of this discussion, I’m gathering he’s feeling rather persistent today-”

“Blame Persistence, dude” DayDream said. “I’ve been telling him to let go for a while”

“-and that means he won’t stop until we arrive. Besides, it is only right. We are his sides. It is our duty to calm his fears. However insufferable” Roman ended.

There was a brief silence.

“But we aren’t his sides!” Dream blurted out loudly. “Only you are!”

“Then I shall go. Join me if you wish!” And with that, he snapped his fingers.

—

Roman appeared in Thomas’s living room, shocked to see a very rattled Thomas. His hair was a mess and he was wearing a stained t-shirt. Roman eyed him with distaste. “Finally, Princey!” Thomas yelled out, beginning to smile. It looked like he hadn’t done that for a while too. “Where have you guys been!?” He asked worriedly.

“Uh, well... I was just touching up on my make-up” Roman lied, feigning an embarrassed laugh.

Thomas paused. “You wear make-up?” He quizzed, arching an eyebrow.

“Why of course I do!” Roman responded loudly. He put a hand through his hair and couldn’t help but grin when it bounced back into perfect condition. “A prince needs to look his best after all. Just ask the fairy god mother! _If you wish upon a star-_ “

“Princey, no singing. Please.” Thomas requested, voice uneasy. Roman pouted at this but soon complied with the demand. Thomas took a shaky breath. “I just-Hey, where are the others?” He suddenly questioned, looking around.

Roman froze. “Just... just me today?”

“Really?” Thomas sounded disappointed. ‘ _What, why is he disappointed? What so bad about just having me? I should’ve known’_ \- “Not that I don’t like you, Princey!” Thomas backtracked, settling Romans thoughts for the time being. “I just- this problem I was hoping to talk to Logan and Virgil about...”

“Them in particular, huh?” Roman sighed. “Should’ve known it would effect you in some way”

Thomas blinked for a few seconds. “Uh, what?”

“Nothing!” Roman denied frantically.

“No. I swear you said-“

“Just sleep deprived, girl” Sleep said, now appearing in the room with them. Roman flinched whilst Thomas stared at the newly presented side with shock. The side was wearing a black hoodie with some band (‘Mystery Skulls’) on it and was scrolling through a phone with his left hand. In his right hand he held a smoothie, appropriately named and written on the drink was ‘Freeze Your Brain’.

“Finally, J.Destructive” Roman sneered at the side before him. “You’re lucky you have that ‘Heathers’ drink or I would not take too kindly towards your arrival”

Sleep spared him a short glance. “Whatever, Roman”

Thomas squinted at Sleep for a second. “...Virgil?”

Sleep scoffed. “Girl, do you see any eyeshadow?”

“Yes.” Thomas nodded hesitantly.

Sleep seemed confused for a moment as he reached for his eyes. He pulled his hand away and saw a black smudge on the tip of his finger. “Oh” He bit his lip. “Must’ve forgot” Roman let out a dramatic sigh.

“Um, have we met before?” Thomas wondered aloud.

“No” Sleep replied, far too quickly.

“You did once. When someone here forgot to send you to bed before walking in” Roman told, chortling.

“What!” Thomas said, startled. “I thought that was a dream!”

Sleep snorted. “Nope. Dream was the guy after me. The one that yelled at me for not being responsible?” He clenched his fists at the memory. “I could not, EVEN with him that day” He said through gritted teeth.

Roman crossed his arms. “But you weren’t, Sleep”

“You know nothing, girl” Sleep said. “I was framed”

“I highly doubt that” Roman retorted, snickering.

“You doubt a lot of things” Sleep returned bluntly.

There was a brief pause as Thomas took in the scene before him.

“I... I don’t understand...” He said, blinking a couple times. Maybe if he did it enough the next time he opened them this would not be happening. That it’d be Roman, Virgil, Logan and Patton and not... well, Roman and this guy. “W-What’s going on?” He asked scarcely.

Sleep merely shrugged. “I don’t know” He lied. “Must have been a miscommunication. Perhaps, girl, you need me more then you think you do”

“Excuse me?” Thomas said.

“It’s Sleep” Roman told.

“Ah. Yes, I do need you more... but, not now..?” Thomas stated confusedly. “I mean, I had a really good amount of sleep last night” He informed as he arched an eyebrow. Sleep looked smug for a couple of seconds at that, stopping when Thomas added; “Though, now that we can talk, I have a lot to say to you!”

Sleep groaned loudly upon this. “No...” He murmured, annoyed.

Roman looked positively giddy at this. “Oh, I’ve been waiting for this confrontation for years!” He whisper-yelled, jumping up and down with excitement. Roman then watched, with the widest grin ever, as Thomas pointed at Sleep accusingly.

“For starters, what were you doing on Wednesday!?” Thomas began intensely. “I got like, no sleep that night! And I had to be somewhere the next day, too” He brought up annoyedly, crossing his arms.

Roman made a small ‘whoop’ like noise in the background. “You tell him, Thomas!” He cheered encouragingly.

Sleep merely stared at the two in response, expression lacking any hints of actual emotion. “I had somewhere to be, girl” He responded, beginning to gaze down at his phone again. “It’s not like we’re all little people who have to live and help your little world from falling apart”

“...That’s exactly what it is?” Thomas replied, unsure if what he was saying was true or not.

“WHAT!?” Roman gasped. “How dare you! It’s not all about you, Thomas!” The fanciful side protested, beginning to look away in disgust. He did an indignant hair flip, and despite however pointless it was, the move made a small impact on Thomas whom was now standing back in surprise. “We’re all our own individuals”

“Right, girl” Sleep gave a short, confirming nod.

There was a short silence as Thomas looked in between the two before shouting; “Okay, what is even going on!?”

“We are just addressing your ego, Thomas” Roman said pointedly. “We must deal with this self-absorbance issue you have going on”

“And who is this coming from?” Thomas snapped back, the strangeness of the situation finally beginning to break him. Despite this, he immediately regretted his choice of words as he saw Romans face. He looked... deeply hurt..?

The princely figure then sighed as he looked downwards. “Well-“

“Okay, I feel as though you guys need a little more help” They all flinched when Psychology appeared in Morality’s spot. His first course of action was turning to face Thomas, doing his best to calm him. “Don’t worry, Thomas. Everything’s fine. We’re just having a bit of a mishap in the mind-scape” He said in a reassuring tone.

Thomas, however, didn’t buy it. “How big..?”

Psychology bit his lip. “Not as bad as you think”

“Well then, how big?” Thomas shot back quickly. “Seriously, Logan! What is actually going on? Where IS the logic? In all of this?”

Psychology’s eyes widened for a split second. He soon chuckled to himself as he adjusted his tie. “I’m not Logic, actually. Though, I can see the similarities-“

“Really?” Roman and Sleep said. Roman being shocked whilst Sleeps tone remained dry.

“-appearance-wise. We both wear ties, wear glasses. Yet, I think there are a fair share of differences” He said, brushing imaginary crumbs off of his brown suit. He laughed. “But, aside from my suit, I feel like the changes are more in our personalities then anything else”

“Amen to that” Roman commented, chortling.

“Then... hold on, your in Pattons spot. So, wait! Does that mean your closer to feelings then logic?” Thomas asked, beaming. He stared at the trio confidentially.

Psychology hummed in contemplation. “You’re sort of right. Though, I’m more in the middle of Logic and Morality figuratively. I have Logics deduction skills, but I use them to balance out Morality’s feelings instead of pursue intelligence” He notified. Thomas gave him a blank stare. “Its better then it sounds, believe me”

“Okay, I will” Thomas offered a weak grin. The others returned the favour, yet they looked far more nervous then he was. “Um, I have to ask... what exactly is going on with the others?”

“Maybe they’re dead!” Thought suddenly yelled, popping into the room. Everybody stepped back. Roman and Psychology shared a perplexed look. Sleep was still eyeing his phone instead of his surroundings. “Maybe they fell in love, maybe they broke something, maybe they left, maybe they’re busy, maybe they hate you, maybe they just can’t make it, maybe they’re... angry...” He concluded, heaving. He then furrowed his brows at Thomas. “One of these days, please cut me a break” He pleaded glumly.

Thomas tilted his head to the side and gazed over at Psychology. “Whose this?”

“Thought” Psychology said.

“And you are? I don’t remember asking...” Thomas trailed off.

“Psychology” The intellectual side told, bowing.

“Okay” Thomas pursed his lips together. He looked at each of them individually before his shoulders slumped. “Now what?”

There was a short pause. “Didn’t you say you had a problem?” Psychology asked concernedly.

“Yes, but... can you guys even solve it?” Thomas questioned. Roman froze. “I mean, you’re not the usual unit”

“I’m sure we can be of some assistance” Psychology informed warmly.

“Yeah, girl. Well, some of us” Sleep sneered, gazing at Thought. “Seriously, I thought DayDream was coming?”

“DayDream? How many sides are there!?” Thomas asked madly.

“He was going to, but he decided to help Dream instead” Thought revealed, smirking. As he ignored Thomas for whatever-reason, Roman let out a sheepish laugh.

“So...” He began meekly. “What ails you, Thomas?”

“I wanted to know... how you figure out if someone’s into you” Thomas spoke shyly.

Roman nearly choked right then. “What!” He quickly calmed himself, taking a deep breath. “And you wanted Virgil and Logan to help you with that?” He asked slowly.

“I know it sounds weird, but I have my reasons” He stated meekly. “And I don’t think they’re all bad”

“But, why not ask me?” Roman quizzed. “Aren’t I your most romantic side?” _That you know of,_  he bitterly said in his mind.

“Yeah, of course!” Thomas assured speedily. “Just... Logan has a very unique perspective and Virgil didn’t really get to tell us how he would’ve handled things, remember?” He told. Romans cheeks reddened slightly. “And for some reason, I dunno. They just seem like the kind of people who know about love. It’s a feeling”

“Girl, true love isn’t saying someone else’s name at the altar” Sleep brought up warily.

Thomas flinched. “Excuse me?”

“AND THUS, RACHEL AND ROSS PREVAILED!” Roman blurted out regally, making overly-complicated hand movements in a desperate attempt to distract Thomas.

It did.

“Wait, why are we suddenly talking about friends?” Thomas then asked with a raised eyebrow, becoming more and more suspicious by the second.

“W-Well, y-you see-“ Roman said, beginning to stammer.

Luckily for him, Psychology had his back. “We’re just testing the waters here, Thomas. What do you think is ‘going too far’ in a relationship?” He questioned, yielding a strong expression.

Thomas thought for a moment. “Oh, that’s a good question” He complimented. Psychology bowed respectively. “I guess if someone said the wrong name at the altar that’d be pretty bad. And it did stuff things up for Ross and Emily” He pointed out matter-of-factly. “But, then again, it did help Ross figure out who he wanted to be with. Without it, Ross and Rachel could have never happened. Though, I do feel bad for Emily”

“Don’t we all” Roman smiled, just glad the confrontation was over.

Thomas stared at the princely figure with confusion. “I thought you disliked Emily”

Roman sighed. “Oh, right. I do...” He frowned.

“You had to think about that? Weird. They’re not telling me everything, are they? What’s going on with Logan and Virgil? Does that altar thing have stuff to do with it? Are they... in love!?” Thought said loudly. Everyone stared at him irritably. He chuckled and looked over towards Thomas, as did the rest soon after. “Such ridiculous allegations, Thomas”

Thomas gasped. “Can you read my thoughts!?”

“No” Thought laughed. “I am your thoughts”

“Ooh” Sleep gave a knowing smirk. “That’s delightfully creepy. ‘Might have nightmares tonight” He glanced at Thomas briefly.

“You wouldn’t” Thomas said, raising an eyebrow.

Sleep shrugged. “I mean, If Fears into it then yea-“

“Sleep...” Thought said, shaking his head. “You’re scaring Thomas”

“So?” Sleep tilted his head to the side, sipping his drink.

“So, stop!” Thought snapped. “Or I’ll tell Narcissism” He declared, resting his hand on his hips. Sleep merely remained confused. Roman stared at the two oddly as Psychology rested a finger to his chin in thought. As the silence grew ever tense, Thoughts confidence crumbled. “Doesn’t that change things..?”

“No” Sleep replied flatly. “Why should it?”

Thoughts hands drifted back to his sides. He seemed disappointed for a moment, but chose to not express that feeling remotely. “Just trying to figure out things”

Sleep pursed his lips together, liking something on his phone (It was a picture of Arthur and Lewis from Mystery Skulls. He felt as though that pairing deserved more attention. What can he say? He likes the complicated ones) before muttering; “Whatever”

Thought huffed. As the tension became thick, he looked over at Thomas. “No. It’s not like that. Quite the opposite, actually”

The comment made Thomas freeze on the spot.

An uncomfortable silence passed.

“Um, I sense tension. Perhaps to improve our moods I could play some jazz music?” Psychology offered.

Roman hummed. “How about Disney songs instead?”

“I don’t think Thomas is up for it though, guys” Thought cut in timidly.

“Girl, don’t be a bummer” Sleep said at Thought. He looked over at Thomas glumly. “How about we do a vote? Can’t argue against democracy, right?”

Thought grimaced. “But Sleep-“

Thomas sighed. “Nah. Okay, let’s listen to some disney songs. But, afterwards, can we talk about my problem?”

“Sure!” They all said at once, though Thomas had a hard time believing them.

Suddenly, Psychology snatched Sleeps phone away from him. He scanned the screen confusedly. His eyes flickered between the phones screen and Sleep. He looked over at Thought and gave a small nod. The side beamed excitedly.

Sleep put his hands up in defeat. “Fine, girl. You got me”

“Got what at who?” Roman wondered aloud.

Psychology shrugged and fixed his glasses as they slowly slid down his nose. “Not important”

Roman pouted and gazed at Thought. “Please..?”

Thought poked out his tongue. “Nope”

“Why am I never let in on anything!?” Roman called out madly.

“Because you’ll just tease us, girl” Sleep stated rudely.

Roman clenched his jaw. “I would never!”

Thomas shifted from one foot to the other nervously. “Well, you never know. You do like to have your opinion known...” He said meekly. Roman was about to say something, but Thomas added hesitantly; “And you were a bit of a bully towards Virgil”

“Yep” Sleep agreed.

Roman crossed his arms but gave no hint of retorting to the claims.

Strangely enough though, Psychology did respond. “To be fair, Virgil was the one that started the bullying. It was Roman who rose up after a long while of silence to stop him. However, whilst Virgil’s behaviour softened, Roman couldn’t let go of how he had been effected-“

“How he was effected?” Thomas became immediately concerned. “What effected you, Roman?”

“It was nothing, really” Roman opposed, chuckling sheepishly. “It was honestly my fault for even listening to him”

“Listening?” Thomas repeated scarcely.

“I don’t think it was, Roman” Psychology began sternly. “And you and I both know you shouldn’t feel that way” He pointed out strictly.

Roman frowned. “Listen here, _Frasier_. I’m just saying-“

“You know Karen doesn’t like this. She’ll start pointing blame. She’ll send her ‘minions’ after us” Psychology told solemnly.

“I’d hardly call them ‘minions’” Roman objected, seemingly offended.

Thomas’s eyes lingered on Roman (‘He’s acting odd’, Thomas thought. ‘Is he okay?’) for a long while before taking a deep breath. “Whose Karen?” He asked reluctantly.

Sleep grinned. “A b-“

“Romans room” Psychology revealed. He glared at Sleep for a bit.

“The rooms have names?” Thomas stared at them in wonder. “Are they people?”

“If you mean sentient; Yes” Psychology nodded.

“Do they... talk?” Thomas questioned, listening intently.

“Sure. Well, kinda” Thought confirmed.

Psychology, luckily, decided to elaborate. “Each room is its own being, yes. They are designed to take proper care of their own sides, and make sure they know what they have to do in life” He discussed thoroughly. “Yet, they can talk to us, in one corner of the mind. If we are not there, however, they can try and send us a message by making alterations to the area”

“Like the room glitching” Roman spoke out.

“Ah.” Thomas smiled. “That’s actually really cool”

“Yes, I agree” Roman said in a rush. “And now that we are done with that let’s move on. Psychology, the Disney music?” He urged worriedly. Psychology merely eyed him, not moving a muscle. The room grew colder and Thomas swore he nearly shivered. What was making the room feel so... frozen?

“Let it go, girl” Sleep requested. “It’s getting frosty in here”

There was a small pause. Suddenly, Roman let out a quick, manic laugh. “Funny, is it not? ‘Let it go’? And here the room is, so cold. Elsa would be proud. Though, ironically, the prince in that movie would not. Mainly because he’s a villain” He sneered. “Anyways, since there is a complete lack of Disney in here, I shall make my exit. Adiós, reyes”

And much to the disapproval of everyone else in the room, the princely persona sunk down.

Thomas looked upset. “Is he okay?”

Psychology sighed. “N-“

“He’s just being dramatic, girl” Sleep told, lacking any hints of concern. “Now, what was this about you liking someone?” He prompted, plunging his hands into his hoodie pockets. Psychology stared down at Sleeps phone before then handing it back weakly. The tired-side speedily took it back. Thomas watched the interaction fearfully.

“Okay then” Thomas said quietly. “Let’s get down to business then”

...

Thought stayed strangely silent for the rest of the video.

—

As Roman stomped through the ever-long hallway, he heard many things. DayDream And Dream bickering, Narcissism admiring himself, Patton crying...

He stopped walking upon that last one. He turned over and saw Patton’s door. To suffer through all this drama would have been tough enough, but to also account for how Patton’s room handles things? (She’s not a very smart parent, Milena...) It must be an absolute disaster.

Roman knew he didn’t want to return to his home just yet. Mother would be too worried for his liking, and his... ‘friends’ would be on him all day to discover what concerns him and him alone. Perhaps he could help Patton then, and reassure him that everything is fine. He should have done that to begin with but, of course, Dream had to have called a meeting.

He had horrid timing, that guy...

As he stepped forward, he noticed something strange. Patton’s crying was... unusual. It didn’t sound right. Patton’s crying was quiet and muffled, as he didn’t want to disturb anyone. This was more of a confused whimper. As if this was the first time this person had ever cried.

But that couldn’t be right, could it?

Roman tried to think back. He couldn’t recall a lot of times he saw people crying, which should be a good thing, but there had to be some side this form of crying paralleled. It couldn’t be Virgil, obviously. He didn’t conceal his tears. He tried to, sure, but it never worked. He’d heard Narcissism cry too, albeit once. But that was a loud and annoying wail. Nothing like this.

Hesitantly, Roman opened the door and saw laid out before him a horrifying sight. It was Logan; rolled up in Patton’s covers and sniffling lowly. Patton was beside him, patting the intellectual side on the back with a startled expression. What had just happened between them? He attempted to close the door softly, but ended up tripping (on nothing, too! Curse his luck!) and alerting them of his presence.

Patton slowly turned to face the fanciful persona as Logan tensed from underneath the blanket. The father-figure sighed. “I’m sorry, Roman”

And with that, the door slammed shut.


End file.
